There are known devices by which an operator can move a work surface relative to himself or herself or relative to another object.
Traditional movable supports for carrying heavy machinery have been bulky, complicated, and unwieldy.
In the retail trade, such as in grocery stores, delicatessens, and bakeries, in particular, there is a need for a slidable work surface system which has a narrow profile, is simple to operate, is easy to construct, and is readily disassembled for cleaning.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,259,167 to Ticheli discloses a slidably mounted weighing scale movable along a pair of track rails located on the flat top surface of a store counter and is supported thereby. The Ticheli sliding weighing scale is located substantially in the middle of the store counter between the area where customers stand in front of the store counter and where personnel would stand behind the counter. The location of the Ticheli scale is a compromise between an easily accessible, ergonomically correct location for either customers or personnel, when their physical needs are considered individually. The Ticheli sliding scale is not easily cleaned, and runs along track rails which are unsatisfactory from the standpoint of modern sanitation and hygiene requirements.
U.S. Pat. No. 978,299 to Jacobs discloses a slidable optical table carried on horizontally spaced apart rails by two pairs of rollers. The Jacobs table is bulky, especially owing to its relatively wide table carrying member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,629 to Dallman discloses a mounting system particularly suited for mounting refrigeration units on walls which are made of foamed-in-place panels. The Dallman system includes a horizontally extending rack fastener which mounts on the top of a horizontal support surface and which has an upwardly extending lip configured to be flush with the vertical face of a wall on which a refrigeration unit is to be hung. The main mounting rack of the Dallman system is essentially a large, open frame having vertical and horizontal legs tied together by braces extending from the free ends of the legs. The refrigeration unit supporting rack itself is stationary, and is held in place relative to the horizontal rack fastener by a downwardly extending lip which mates with the upwardly extending lip of the rack fastener. Accordingly, the weight of the support rack and the refrigeration unit contained thereon is distributed over a large area of the wall panel.
The use of the term "work surface" is for convenience only, as all types of supporting surfaces, tables, racks, and the like are intended to be within the scope of the invention.